“The Happytime Murders” (Comedy/Crime: 1 hour, 31 minutes)

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Bill Barretta and Maya Rudolph

Director: Brian Henson

Rated: R (Strong crude humor, sexual content, profanity, and drug material)

 

Movie Review: Planned absurdity is the manner to describe this adult comedy. It takes preposterous shticks and plays it for what it is worth. One laughs not because moments are always comically sound, but rather because they are adolescently rendered, raunchy comedy.

Detective Connie Edwards (McCarthy) and a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye, Phil Philips (Bill Barretta), a puppet, are former partners. They reluctantly reunite to solve who is killing puppets, particularly the cast of a 1980s children’s television show.

They will have to trek through the underbelly of Los Angeles where puppets and humans live together.

Bill Barretta’s voice narrates this comedy with a flair of movies from the 1930-50s. His voice as Phil Philips is one of the more tantalizing moments of the movie. His narration is similar to that of private investigator movies such as “The Maltese Falcon” (1941) and “The Big Sleep” (1946).

Other than Barretta’s narration, the other plus for this movie is Phil Philips’ secretary, Bubbles. She is played appealingly by Maya Rudolph.

Some laughs are present for those not taking this movie too seriously. It is a comedy about humans coexisting with puppets after all. Its producers planned it to be exactly what it is — an over-the-top adult comedy.

Otherwise, the rest of the movie gives way to childish antics, overly crude humor and repetitive quips. In addition, the story is uneven with its treatment of characters. This is pitiable since the movie is a creative story helmed by Brian Henson (“The Muppet Christmas Carol,” 1992), the son of famed puppeteer Jim Henson.

Grade: C+ (The murder of a creative narrative happens happily.)

“A.X.L” (Science-Fiction/Action: 1 hour, 40 minutes)

Starring: Alex Neustaedter, Becky Gomez and Thomas Jane

Director: Oliver Daly

Rated: PG (Sci-fi action/peril, suggestive material, thematic elements and some language)

 

Movie Review: “A.X.L.” is the second directorial feature of Oliver Daly. His last movie was “Miles” (2015), a short photoplay about racers and technology in the world of off-roading in California.

“A.X.L.” and “Miles” are very similar. They have similar characters and involve technology, except “A.X.L.” features a robotic canine.

Miles Hill (Neustaedter) is a young off-road dirt biker. He is competitive in the sport. His life changes when he discovers a giant robotic dog code-named A.X.L.: Attack, Exploration, Logistics, that is a top-secret, military machine.

Hill and A.X.L. quickly become friends, their relationship is tested when mercenaries, military and jealous acquaintances intervene.

A.X.L. is about a teenager and his dog, so its aim is families. It is adventurous but its characters fail to make themselves register in a grand manner. This exists because the story starts in an inviting manner but loses this feeling as it becomes unpredictable and unrealistic.

Grade: C (Does not throw audiences a bone.)

“Beautifully Broken” (Drama: 1 hour, 48 minutes)

Starring: Benjamin A. Onyango, Scott William Winters and Emily Hahn

Director: Eric Welch

Rated: PG-13 (Mature thematic content involving violence and disturbing images, and some drug content)

 

Movie Review: This is a poignant drama when set in Rwanda but unconvincingly idyllic when in Tennessee.

The story is touching for faith-based audiences looking for a message. Outside of its message, “Beautifully Broken” is emotive but not a commanding screenplay based on real people.

Three fathers struggle to maintain their families’ health and safety in Rwanda and in Tennessee. Their task will not be an easy one. Seen and unseen dangers abound. Their lives intersect for the good — help comes from all walks of life.

Again, the Rwandan scenes are engaging. They are the better part of the movie. It details the plight of two families in the war-torn country during the 1990s. Approximately 800,000 people were killed during the genocide. This part of the movie is a survival story.

The other part of the movie is typical American. A middle-class American family has a much better life than those of the Rwandan people, so their story appears typical. They are not losing their house or watching people die as ruthless militia steals property, rapes women and kills others around them.

This is not an indication the latter family does not have major problems, but the more interesting part of this drama exists in Rwanda. Because of this, “Beautifully Broken” is broken, nearly in half. Its stories compete for attention when the parts in Rwanda are more engagingly inspirational.

Grade: C+ (Its beautiful message shines, even if its heavy-handed execution is broken.)